Mini Rose Question

springtime23(8/NC)May 13, 2012

Hello all. It has been about a week, going on two weeks since I got and transplanted my mini roses from there cramped pots to there new pots. How long does it take for them to get adjusted? My pink mini is still bright green but loosing all of its leaves? My orange mini is getting a little new growth, the third has no leaves except dried ones. Any ideas? Thanks all.

Are the roses inside the house or outside? Did they go from a store shelf or table to where they are now?

All roses are outside plants, not house plants. It IS possible to create a suitable environment inside your house to grow some under grow lights but it is much more involved than just putting them in a window like an African Violet.

If they were inside a store and have now been placed outside, they will probably shed all of their leaves as they went from greenhouse to store to outside where the softer, greenhouse grown leaves will burn and dry out before falling. If they are kept watered with decent drainage, they should begin resprouting new leaves in anywhere from a week or two to several weeks. The time required depends upon many factors.

I would put the pots where they get filtered light, preferably morning type sun, not where direct sun can shine on the pot sides, potentially over heating the soil and cooking the plants. You have to treat them like newly rooted cuttings, think "infants", until they get used to the change in environment. Once they are used to it and haven't been drown in too much standing water or fried in too hot, direct sun, they should begin growing again. Kim

Hello Kim, I bought them from a nursery that kept them outside. I do not keep them inside, they are outside. I did keep them the sun, but now have since moved them in the shade. I water them lightly. The stems are bright green so I assume all is well. I do appreciate your advice! :)

Hi Springtime, good! It is significantly more difficult to acclimate greenhouse/indoor grown roses to being outside than it is those which are already there. If they were in the direct sun where you bought them, and the sun isn't any more intense where you want to put them, they should be OK in the sun. It's when they aren't used to the intensity of heat and light you want to grow them in, you have to gradually harden them off, getting them used to that intensity in steps. It's the same thing we have to do to get used to being outside in the direct, hot sun after being inside all winter.

The worst issue with growing minis (or any plant)_in pots is the heat from the sun overheating the pot, cooking the roots. They will respond marvelously to warmer soil, but HOT soil places too much stress on them and can easily kill them outright very quickly. Usually, in nurseries where they're grown outdoors, the other plants and pots shade the individual pots, keeping them cooler. I try to provide some sort of shade to the pots here, but I'm in the mix zone between coastal fogs and inland valley intense heat. This sun is brutal from spring to late fall and can quickly cook roots in pots if they aren't given some protection. The only way I can grow even bougainvillea on my southern facing deck is to line the insides of the pots with bubble wrap, providing an airspace insulation to the soil balls. Hopefully, your sun heat in North Carolina isn't that extreme, but if you think it might be, it's something to remember. Your increased humidity over what we have will also help to encourage your plants to sprout new foliage. We have just enough humidity to rot cuttings under cover and provide excellent conditions for fungal issues, but not nearly enough to encourage them to refoliate themselves. Good luck and have fun with them! Kim